MacPherson Tournament welcomes team from Germany

Posted: 1/22/2018

The First Hockey Saints faced off against Jungadler Mannheim in Germany last August, and will take on the German team on home ice this weekend at the MacPherson Hockey tournament.

First Hockey coach, David Manning, said the Saints are looking forward to reuniting with Jungadler (which translates as Young Eagles) as they’ve crossed paths before. The SAC team travelled to Mannheim, Germany the last two years to compete in the DEL Junior Cup. The Saints won the tournament in 2016, but fell short last August after being eliminated by Jungadler.

The same players will meet again at Friday night’s 7 p.m. game at the La Brier Family Arena.

“We’ve been going to their event the last couple of years,” Coach Manning says. “They’re great hosts.”

They are also great adversaries: “They beat us 5-3” in our most recent matchup in August, Coach Manning said. “They’re the No. 1 team in Germany. They’ll be a good test for us.”

The inclusion of a team from outside North America is a first in the MacPherson’s 35-year history.

The German team will be in Canada for a total 10 days and plans to fit plenty of time on the ice into their schedule. Prior to the MacPherson, they’ll head to St. Catharines on Wednesday to play a game against Ridley College. After the SAC tournament they’ll play a couple of friendly games against York Simcoe Express and the Central Ontario Wolves before they return to Mannheim.

The other teams that make up our eight-team tournament are:

Upper Canada College, Toronto, Ontario

Jeannois College d’Alma, Alma, Quebec

Bridgton Academy, Bridgton, Maine

Seacoast Prep, Exeter, New Hampshire

Northwood School, Lake Placid, New York

Edge School, Calgary, Alberta

Hockey fans are welcome to drop by the La Brier Family Arena during the weekend tournament. If you can’t make it, you can always tune in to the live stream of the games, which can be accessed through the SAC website here (click on the camera icon to the right).